The Great Planes Patriot (40) has been a favorite of mine for several years and I have had more than one in both kit and ARF form. They are discontinued AGAIN so if you find a kit/ARF or RTF version on fleabay or something- buy it!
This propjet is obviously best when fitted with a high performance engine like a Jett-50, YS-45 or the new Jett-60LX, and retracts. But if you don't want to drop the cash on one of those, or if you are not sure if you will enjoy this type of airplane just start with an OS-50SX or similar. I have flown the combo and it has PLENTY of power... Down the road you can sell your car and get a Jett
Do not even bother using a 60 sized sport engine, you will end up nose heavy and an average 60 cannot get you enough RPM's anyway--- more stump-pullers in the 60 class than speed- Same can be said for the weaker 40-46 sized engines- I love my OS-46FX and TT Pro-46's as much as the next guy but if you are going to build or buy a patriot, get a decent engine (see below). Some folks start with a stock 46 until they are used to the speed then they upgrade engines- good idea I suppose...
Also, I have always used standard servos like Futaba 148's or 3003's etc. Many people will tell you to get higher grade servos, I am usually poor and I have never had a servo problem so I just get a 6V pack (Ups the torque from say 45 oz. to about 60 oz.) and I am ready to rock- (even at 4.8V I never had any issues) just do not YANK it 90 degrees at full throttle and stuff-
I do recommend glassing the center section of the wing to add strength, if you are using anything stronger than a standard 46 (just in case-) if you have any questions (as I did years ago) about glassing, do a search or email me, it is WAY easier than most think--- takes about 15 minutes!
Other sport engines that will provide better than average performance are:
YS-45 (macs 7.5CC pipe or UT) 10x8 APC
Webra-50GT 9x8 APC
OS-50SX 9x8 APC (Tower or UT)
Rossi-45/53 (mini-tuned silencer)
MVVS-49 (Moussecan or other)
K&B-48 (Jettstream or UT muffler)
Even the Irvine-53/Tower muffler was a pretty decent combo. on the Patriot (10x7 I think I ran, it was a few years ago)
For folks who are hard core I would recommend powerplants like:
Jett-90
OPS- anything
Picco anything
Ducted fan engines like the OS-46VRDF/VF or OS-77VRDF
These would require some retrofitting but would be hair-on-fire fast!
As for retracts, they ARE worth the weight, hassle and cost so at least consider them- I prefer Pneumatic units (Air actuated) to mechanicals (Servo actuated) because the air units are easier to set-up, and install. Also, if you have a leak, an air hose comes loose or you just forgot to pump them up between flights, they will lock DOWN automatically. (Not all brands are like this- Spring Air is what I recommend) Spring up and air down! In the old days the air would push the gear down so not enough air, no locked out gear!
having bragged about the air versions I must admit that my current patriot uses mechanical retracts and they work just fine, you just have to check them regularly for slop, and possible binding- if they bind up while flying and the servo stalls, your RX pack can go dead VERY fast, sometimes in just 2 or 3 minutes. So if you land hard, test them and listen for servo buzzing on the ground, before subsequent flights!
That is basically it, the patriot is only slightly more difficult to fly than say an Ultra Sport or fast ugly-stick, just make sure the control throws are fairly low (Dual rates if possible) use some expo. so the sticks are less sensitive around center, and get the CG spot on.
Thanks for reading and I hope I was of some service to you!
james
#1 patriot fan